Little Falls, NJ – Freshman second baseman
KEVIN MILLER (Bloomfield, NJ / Bloomfield) singled home a pair of runs to cap a five-run seventh inning as Montclair State toppled No. 1 ranked Eastern Connecticut, 7-5 at Yogi Berra Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.
Sophomore
MIKE ERCOLANO (Vernon, NJ / Vernon) went 3-for-3 with two RBI as the Red Hawks moved past the .500 mark for the first time this season at 11-10.
Junior shortstop Travis Bass (West Hartford, CT / William Hall) drove in a pair of runs for Eastern Connecticut, which suffered just its third loss of the season, falling to 18-3. The Warriors were ranked No. 1 in both the ABCA and D3Baseball.com polls entering the contest.
Montclair's winning rally began as
JAY BIONDE (Pompton Plains, NJ / Pequannock) reached on an error and
SCOTT EVANGELIST (Northfield, NJ / Holy Spirit) was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. After an out, Ercolano smacked a base hit up the middle, scoring Bionde to trim the lead to 5-3. Following a pitching change,
MICHAEL BOGGI (Towaco, NJ /Montville) singled to load the bases and Montclair made it a one-run contest as
ED KLOEPPING (Pennsville, NJ / Pennsville) singled in the infield. Pinch-hitter
ADAM BERGMAN (Berkeley Heights, NJ / Gov. Livingston) took the first pitch he saw and lined a single into left center tying the game at 5-5 as Ercolano scored from third. Miller then bounced a base hit through the middle of the infield to score the final two as the Red Hawks led 7-5.
The rest was left up to senior righthander
MICHAEL STREAMAN (Westfield ,NJ / Westfield), who retired the final seven hitters to give MSU two straight against the Warriors in battle between two of the most storied programs in Division III history. The two squads have combined for seven NCAA championships and featured two head coaches with a combined 1,981 victories. MSU leads the all-time series 25-14.
Streaman gave up two hits as he improved to 3-0 on the year. Junior righthander Chris Wojcik (Uncasville, CT / Montville) took the loss falling to 2-1 on the year. Wojcik allowed two unearned runs as he went 1 2/3 innings in relief surrendering four hits.
Eastern Connecticut took a 1-0 lead in the first as Shawn Gilblair (Windham, CT / Windham) collected a two-out single to score Bass. Montclair State would respond with a run in its half as
KEVIN BOND (Cedar Grove, NJ / Cedar Grove) doubled with two outs and scored as Ercolano singled through the left side.
The next two innings proved to be missed opportunities for both teams. Eastern loaded the bases with nobody out in the second but failed to score. The Warriors then put the first two on in the second, but could not get a run in. Montclair would somewhat take advantage in the third as Boggi drew a one-out walk with the bases loaded to give MSU a 2-1 lead. But the Red Hawks couldn't add to the lead as a double-play killed the threat.
ECSU answered with a three-run fourth to take a 4-1 lead. The Warriors loaded the bases again with no outs, but this time delivered as Robert Perry (Manchester, NJ / Manchester) scored on a wild pitch and Bass laced a two-run single. Eastern increased the lead to 5-1 the next inning on an RBI single by Melvin Castillo (Danbury, CT / Danbury).
Kloepping and Bond each finished with two hits for Montclair State, which was out hit in the contest, 14-10. Perry, was 3-for-4 for the Warriors while GIlblair, Steve Cammuso (Rutland, MA / Wachusett Regional), Tristan Hobbes (Utica, NY / Notre Dame) and John Parke (Middlefield, CT / Coginchaug Regional) all had two hits.
Montclair State returns to action on Thursday, April 9 as the Red Hawks host #5/#12 Kean University at Yogi Berra Stadium beginning at 3:30 pm. Eastern Connecticut is at Springfield College on Wednesday, April 8 for a 3:30 pm start.
